Collapsible can holder



United States Patent 9 COLLAPSIBLE CAN HOLDER Edmund W. Joecks, Madison, Conn.

Application December 24, 1952, Serial No. 327,810

3 Claims. (Cl. 248-210) The present invention relates to a holder by means of which a paint can or like container, when open and in use, may be supported for easy access to a person working on a ladder.

An object of the invention is the provision of a device for the purpose described which is of simple, practical and inexpensive construction and which, without being directly attached to the container which it supports, is itself carried by the container when the latter by its handle is moved from one place to another.

Another and important obiect of the invention lies in the factor of safety it affords because its attachment to and disengagement from a ladder is a one hand operation, that being the hand carrying the paint or other commodity, thus leaving the other hand free at all times to grip the ladder.

Another object is to make the holder collapsible so as to occupy but a minimum of space in storage or for shipment.

And, a still further object is to provide a holder which may be suspended from either the right or left side of aladder.

A preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, will be fully set forth in the following detailed description and particularly defined in the appended claims.

The drawings are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, a container within the holder being shown in dotted lines.

Figs. 3 and 4 are plan and side views, respectively, of the holder when collapsed, the dotted line illustration of the removed arm, Fig. 3, indicating its position with respect to the other parts when the device is packaged.

Fig. 5 shows in front view a portion of a ladder with a paint can and its holder suspended therefrom.

Fig. 6 is a side view from the right of the parts seen in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail to be explained.

in the drawings similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the different views.

The invention is of extremely simple construction as it comprises but three parts and two pivotal connections. One of these parts, a U-shape member indicated generally by numeral 8, has a connecting portion 9 and parallel side bars 1.9 and 11, the outer bar It being the greater in length and having its free end turned inwardly to provide a lip 12.

The second part is a circular band 13, preferably of comparatively thin fiat stock, turnable within the U-shape member 8 and has pivotal connections 14 and 15 with the inner faces of arms and 11, respectively, to rotate about an axis parallel with the connecting portion 9 of the part 8.

And the third part is a swinging member, indicated generally at 16, which is mounted adjacent its inner end on the pivotal connection so as to lie against the outer face of the short arm 11 of part 8 and having at its outer end a return bend to provide an upturned hook 17 for engaging the rung of a ladder.

The lower reach of hook portion 17 of the arm 16 is by a lateral portion 18 offset from the short inner end portion 19 which pivots on the connection 15,. A lug 29 at the upper end of the side bar 11 limits the angular throw of the arm 16, the lowermost position of which is. substantially as shown in Fig. 2, such lug. engaging the outer, free end of the arm portion 19 or its inner end accordingly as the arm is lowered or raised. The arm 16 in this instance is of fiat stock and is given the necessary twist to permit both the hook portion 17 and the lateral portion 18 to present flat surfaces to respective portions of a ladder upon which the holder may be hung.

A paint can, indicated at 22, or similar container of a size for which the holder is adapted is, by giving it a slight tilt so as to pass the lip 12, placed within the band 13 and bottoms on the connecting portion 9 of the part 8. The bail 23 is dropped over the side bar 10 as shown in Fig. 5, And, from the drawings it will also be observed that the height of the band 13 is such that it lies in a plane below the pivoted connections of the bail to the can, while the lip 12 on the bar 10 engages over the rim of the can.

Thus the invention comprises a holder for a can which, as stated, rests on the connecting portion 9 where it is held against displacement by the side bars 10 and 11 and the band 13, the lip 12 preventing the can from being lifted out of the holder unless purposely done so by tilting it to disengage the retaining lip.

The can is carried by its bail 23 and the holder, without the use of fastening devices is carried with it, the holder being prevented from dropping off by reason of the lip 12 engaging the top of the can.

From the foregoing and by reference to the drawings it will readily be seen that, with the arm 16 in the position shown in Fig. 2, the use of only one hand, the one carrying a can of paint, is required to slip the hook 17 under and onto a rung 24 of a ladder. When thus supported the arm 16 will lie in the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 with its lateral portion 13 bearing against the front face of the side rail 25 adjacent the hook 17. Weight of the can and its contents will cause the holder to turn on its pivotal connection 15 with the arm 16 and assume a vertical position irrespective of the inclination of the ladder. The holder will also bear against the outer face of the ladder rail 25 with sufiicient friction to maintain the can in vertical position and prevent accidental tilting.

In use on a ladder the holder provides means for removably supporting the can 22, but when shifting the holder from one rung 24 to another it is done by lifting the can by its bail 23, the holder being supported and carried by the can. While pivotal connection 14 is shown as a rivet it is preferable that the connection 15 be a bolt and nut. This permits the arm 16 being removed and when the holder is in folded condition, as in Figs. 3 and 4, the arm may be placed in the dotted line position as seen at 16 in Fig. 3, for packaging.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention shows a holder normally for use on the right hand side of a ladder in which instance the hook 17 engages a rung 24 from the underside. However, the holder may without change be used on the left side of a ladder and in this event hook 17 will engage a rung 24 from the top side, as shown in detail in Fig. 7. Releasing the nut on the bolt 15 will allow the arm portion 19 to pass the stop 20 after which the nut is again tightened.

It will of course be understood that the holders may be made in various sizes and that other material than the flat stock shown in the drawings may be used for the member 8, the arm 16 and the band 13.

What I claim is:

l. The combination, in a holder for paint cans and the like, of a U-shape can supporting member including two spaced side bars and a connecting portion, one of said bars being of greater length than the other, a band for encircling the can and pivoted at diametrically opposite points to the inner faces of said side bars to turn within said U-shape member, a rearwardly extending arm including a short section at its forward end mounted to turn on the pivotal connection of the shorter one of said bars, an outwardly turned lateral section and a rear section terminating in a return bend to provide a support engaging hook, a detent on the shorter one of said bars for limiting angular movement of said arm, and a projection on the longer one of said bars for engaging over the top rim of the can when the can is seated on said connecting portion.

2. A combination according to claim 1 but characterized by the said holder being collapsible, said band being turnable to lie in the plane of said side bars and by said arm being removable.

3. The combination, in a holder for paint cans and the like, of a U-shape can supporting member including two spaced side bars and a connecting portion, one of said bars being of greater length than the'other, a band for encircling the can and pivoted by pivotal connections at diametrically opposite points to the inner faces of said side bars to turn within said U-shape member, a rearwardly extending arm including a short section at its forward end mounted to turn on one of said pivotal connections, an outwardly turned lateral section and a rear section terminating in a return bend to provide a support engaging hook, stop means on said U-shape member cooperating with the said short section of said arm to limit angular movement of the arm, and a projection on the longer one of said bars for engaging over the top rim of the can when the can is seated on said connecting portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

